Many financial entities, such as investment companies and publicly and privately held investment funds have a fiduciary responsibility to manage their assets for the exclusive benefit of their shareholders or beneficiaries. One aspect of this duty is to take all reasonable steps to collect any money that the financial entity may be entitled to for securities that were purchased or acquired by the financial entity and that suffered a “market loss” which was determined to be compensable in a securities class action lawsuit (also, referred to as a “securities fraud class action”).
When a securities class action lawsuit is filed or concluded, no party in the lawsuit is required to identify all of the financial entities that suffered a market loss. When a securities class action lawsuit is concluded, a “settlement notice” is issued. Parties who believe that they are entitled to an award under the terms of the settlement notice (i.e., class members) must timely file a “proof of claim” with a claims administrator to receive monies from the settlement. The burden falls on the financial entities that suffered the loss to identify their eligibility to participate in the lawsuit and to receive a recovery award.
Hundreds of securities class action lawsuits are filed every year. Since securities class action lawsuits are typically pending for many years, there may be thousands of such lawsuits pending at any time. A large financial entity such as a public pension fund may hold thousands of securities at any one time, and may trade thousands of securities each year. To be eligible for a monetary award from a securities class action lawsuit, the security typically must have been purchased during the “class period” specified in the lawsuit. Sometimes, eligibility exists if the security was acquired (by other than a purchase) or sold during the class period.
It is a complex and monumental task for financial entities to monitor all significant securities class action lawsuits to (a) determine when a potential market loss exists for security that was purchased or acquired by the financial entity during the class period, (b) estimate the amount of loss, and (c) determine whether it is prudent to take measures to try to recover part of the loss. Accordingly, many financial entities take no measures to identify and seek recoveries despite the fiduciary responsibility to do so.
In instances where a financial entity suffered a significant estimated market loss, it may be prudent for the financial entity to play an active role in the lawsuit, such as by being a lead plaintiff or by filing an individual action. However, this decision will be forfeited if the financial entity fails to identify their estimated market loss early on in the lawsuit. If the estimated market loss only justifies a passive role for the financial entity, it is still necessary for the financial entity to monitor the lawsuit if a recovery is desired.
An automated management tool that allows a financial entity to receive reports which evaluate their position with respect to any given securities class action lawsuit and which track any identified potential market loss through the conclusion of a lawsuit would allow financial entities to more easily fulfill their fiduciary responsibility with respect to securities class action lawsuits without unduly burdening the financial entities with administrative tasks. The present invention fulfills such a need.